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Stephen Fry admitted he was left 'embarrassed and awkward' after an 'eye-watering' grilling about his sexual preferences while appearing on ITV's The Assembly.
The TV presenter joked that being quizzed by the audience on the programme, which is made up of autistic, neurodivergent, and/or learning-disabled interviewers, was 'worse than the Celebrity Traitors roundtable'.
Stephen, 68, who took part in the first series of the BBC spin-off of the Traitors last year, will be the first of a new run of celebrities to face The Assembly.
And it won't be long before talk turns to his sexual preferences, as he revealed that one curious audience member was quick to question him on his sexuality.
Stephen came out as gay in the late 1980s, and has been married to Elliott Spencer since 2015, with the pair holding their wedding ten days after announcing their engagement.
The broadcaster has long been vocal about his sexuality, and in 2024 opened up about how being gay felt like there was 'a horror inside him' when he was teenager.
He said of the question that shocked him the most on The Assembly: 'I think the rather eye-watering curiosity as to my sexual preferences.'
Stephen Fry has admitted he was left 'embarrassed and awkward' after an 'eye-watering' grilling about his sexual preferences while appearing on ITV's The Assembly
The TV presenter joked that being quizzed by the audience on the programme was 'worse than Celebrity Traitors'
'Not sexuality, you understand - that was understood - but my preferences within that sexuality framework... well, I wasn't expecting that!'
'[I was] as embarrassed, awkward and uncoordinated as I always feel when dancing.'
Asked what was more 'intense', Stephen joked that the grilling on the ITV show was worse than his time around the roundtable on Celebrity Traitors.
He continued: 'The Assembly just pips it. The Traitors roundtable sees the possibility of mistakenly naysaying, or of being punished, but within a game. The Assembly puts one under a microscope for real.'
He added of how the interview differed to those in his daily life: 'The frankness, the openness, the genuine curiosity. These are not things one is used to in the normal run of journalistic inquisition.'
'It kept me on my toes as much as I expected. But it was also friendlier and more fun than I had feared...'
In a new interview with The Times , Stephen admitted being gay used to feel like there was 'a horror inside him' and he felt 'rejected'
In 2024, Stephen opened up about how it felt growing up, and admitted that his friends often mocked him for his 'celibacy' while hiding his sexuality.
In a tell-all interview with The Times, Stephen admitted being gay used to feel like there was 'a horror inside him' and he felt 'rejected'.
'In the Eighties, I was known as Celibate Stephen.'
'I was so excited by my work that I forgot to have sex. It was also fear. I always felt rejected in gay bars. I couldn’t dance; I didn’t look cool. All I wanted was to sit and talk.'
'In some ways, though, I was lucky: I lost many friends to Aids.'
'Being gay gave me years of misery but an education in literature. By the time I was 13 my sexuality was a secret horror swelling inside me and I was desperately trying to find out who I was, what future there was for me.'
'I knew the disgrace and humiliation of gay people.'
He added: 'Oscar Wilde had taught me that it would be a life of mockery, exile and secrecy. And then there were those writers, like EM Forster or Somerset Maugham, who held their heads up high and made me feel that it wasn't all slime and grim mackintosh people in a terrible world of darkness.'
But in January, the QI star shared a heartfelt tribute to him on Instagram to mark their 10th wedding anniversary
Elsewhere, Stephen revealed that he does not want to live past 100 because he would 'hate to be that lonely'.
The broadcaster - who has not been seen with his husband Elliott, 37, for nearly five years - admitted that he would find it 'deeply upsetting' to see a world without his friends and family.
Speaking about longevity to Evgeny Lebedev on his podcast Brave New World, on the episode where David Walliams was also interviewed, Stephen admitted that he 'likes the idea of death', and it is the 'idea of decay' that shakes his boots.
He explained: 'Personally, I'm not particularly interested in longevity for myself. I'm interested, as I think most people are, in the idea of an old age that is as pain-free as possible and where there isn't too much cognitive loss...
'But I am not someone who wants to live longer than the rest of my friends.'
He continued: 'If everybody - my family and friends - lived into their 120s, then maybe I'd be quite happy to pass 100. But as it is, I would hate to be that lonely Flying Dutchman figure so beloved of history...
'The survivor, all of whose dependents and acquaintances have since died. I would find that deeply upsetting.'
Last year, Stephen shared rare comments about his 10-year marriage to Elliott as he opened up on his romantic history to Rylan Clark on his podcast Rylan: How to Be in Love.
The couple are believed to have met in 2012 after being introduced by mutual friends at a house party, causing sparks to fly and they began dating shortly after.
Despite Elliot being nearly 30-years his junior, Stephen told Rylan about how their age-gap has aided their relationship as he revealed the secret to a successful marriage.
The comedian began: 'I can tell you how to have a successful relationship with Elliot, but that's probably not very helpful.'
He then went on: 'But I guess it's all the normal human virtues - some of which are forgotten virtues - but one of the most important human virtues, I think,isn't even really considered a virtue.
But it is one that changes the world. And it's not kindness, which obviously is important,but it's a subset of kindness perhaps. And it's cheerfulness.'
Stephen added that their age gap also meant that Elliot was always introducing him to new things causing him to develop an unexpected love of wrestling and rap.
The presenter explained: ‘When you’re in the presence of a cheerful person,it makes everything better.They’re like their own sunshine.So that’s one of the things.If one is down to help the other come up…
‘And understand each other’s differences as emotional human beings.For example,I had to understand,and he had to understand,that I am extremely energetic and bouncy and chatty in the mornings at breakfast and he is not.
‘So I had to find ways of just calming myself and he had to come up a little bit and not be quite so kind of,“will you shut up Stephen!”’
Stephen added that their age gap also meant that Elliot was always introducing him to new things,causeing him to develop an unexpected love of wrestling and rap.
He said:‘He teaches me things I just didn’t know.He introduced me to Kendrick Lamar;which was a great thing to do because Kendrick Lamar I’ve decided is a great poetical spirit;a really remarkable figure.
‘But that plus;now you’re really going to laugh here because I thought,is he insane?He has a great affection for;and I guess you could call it ironic;but it’s real - for WWE...’
Rylan was quick to check if Stephen had developed his own appreciation for the entertainment,a sking:‘Are you now a fan of WWE?’
Stephen sheepishly admitted:‘I kind of am yeah,and I just don’t know whether I can reveal this extraordinary truth,but I have bought a couple of tickets for WrestleMania in Las Vegas.’
Read More Stephen Fry shares secret to marriage with husband Elliott Spencer and impact of 30-year age gap
Stephen and Elliot have kept a low profile during their relationship and haven't been pictured together for six years.
But in January, the QI star shared a heartfelt tribute to him on Instagram to mark their 10th wedding anniversary.
In a heartwarming insight into their happy marriage, he gushed 'I'm a lucky man' in the caption alongside the black and white photo from their wedding day.
He wrote: 'Ten happy years to the day since we were joined in marriage. I'm a lucky man.'
Stephen's comments come nearly five years after he was pictured with his husband, Elliot.
He and Elliott - who is 30 years his junior - tied the knot back in January 2015 , just 10 days after announcing their engagement .
Elliot, from Southampton, met Stephen in 2014 and was initially known as Mr E. before they went public.
The pair are known to keep their romance under tight wraps as they were last pictured together in May 2019 for the star-studded Rocketman premiere in London.
The Assembly returns Wednesday 8th April (10.05pm) and Friday 10th April at 10pm on ITV1 and ITVX